London: Tate, Tooting & Billy Elliot

Whoa, it got chilly! Today was gray and cool, which was actually quite welcome after yesterday's sun and heat - so we started out by walking the whole way to the Tate Modern Museum, about 3 miles from our hotel. I warned Jill of a long walk, and well, I didn't lie :) We spent quite a bit of time at the Tate, as last year when I visited the permanent exhibit portion on the 5th floor was closed, so there was a lot new for me to see, and lots on the 3rd floor to revisit.

Next, we walked across the Millennium Bridge over to "The City" - mainly the financial district where we walked past all of the PIB's toward London Bridge, which gives a nice view of the Tower Bridge (the one that Americans typically think of as London Bridge, myself included...doh!). We headed into the Southwark (that's "suth-ick") neighborhood and stopped for a drink and snack. Here, we decided to go to Tooting - touted as the "new Brick Lane" for good curries and Indian food overall, we hopped the tube and arrived in relatively short order.

Here, we found a whole other London: A definite ethnic, Muslim neighborhood with a variety of ethnic foods, shops and people. We were both happy to step out of the touristy hub-bub of the core of the city to this clearly working-class 'hood. It was worth the trip, and it refreshed us both to see a different angle of London. Because we had tickets to see Billy Elliot (which I'd seen a year ago...and thought Jill would enjoy) we had to eat too early to really sit and enjoy the recommended eateries. However, we made do with cheap (re: $30) Indian 'fast-food' which was good enough before heading back for the show.

It was enjoyable, though I was reminded that the seats in that theater are horrible! Jill liked it, I liked it a lot too - but in retrospect should've picked something new for us to see together. Ah well, it was nice to just sit and stare - we'd had two long touristy days - one sun-baked - so the evening of 'rest' - just sitting and being entertained - was nice!












A few stolen shots at the Tate Modern; London sights along the way (Big Ben, The Eye...which we didn't end up riding due to crappy visibility, particularly when weighed against the cost); our trip to Tooting; and finally, a few shots of Billy Elliot's encore.